The Lost Lamb's Weeping
by LambWithCatEars48
Summary: Along with the male victims of the mysterious deaths, a lone female was forced into the world of nightmares as well. She just can't commit to the man she loves - for good reason. While dealing with her abusive relationship, overwhelming guilt of the past, and growing relationships with guys at the bar, how can she handle Astaroth's "test" while trying to out-climb death each night?
1. Along came a lamb

_It was easy for him to just pick a woman; he did it with men every day. He just found a woman with a constant burning sense of guilt in her heart that prevented her from committing to her lover, and once she was fast asleep, he had slipped himself into her subconscious mind and took over, throwing her into the realm of nightmares the creator had so skillfully crafted (though he would usually send a succubus to one of his victims, a being most willing to lure them into committing adultery, since this was a heterosexual female he was dealing with, he decided to use his own powers to penetrate her mind himself instead of trying to locate the rare incubus who would just penetrate her body). But once the creator of the nightmares was informed of her arrival, they began to watch her, and they were both slightly surprised at how she was within the nightmares compared to how she had always acted in the waking world. The creator knew that no two women were alike, but there was a staggering difference between normal women and her. She was something; the creator didn't know if it was good or bad yet, but it was something. She acted in a way that no person ever would act in the bizarre situation they had thrown her in, which seemed to have caused a massive imbalance in the growing insanity that the other sheep would suffer as they each clawed their way to the door to freedom each night. And as the creator took note of this, they smiled._

_"Interesting..." they chuckled in a childish voice, watching the lamb climb from an unseen location._

* * *

Stepping through the wooden door and on to a row of white blocks, a unusually short female lamb rubbed her eyes tiredly. She scratched her scalp through the tangled black mess on her head as she gave a little yawn of exhaustion.

"Ugh... Is it morning already?" she groaned tiredly, her mind dazed from a continuously restless night. But as her cloudy vision began to clear, her mind jolted to alert as she suddenly found herself in an unfamiliar area, gazing around a room that seemed to endlessly stretch from all directions. A tower of blocks began building itself high above her, reaching to what she believed was the Heavens. Lanterns and tree roots lined the thick dirt walls around her, though she saw no giant tree above her head as she had anticipated. Only darkness.

"Whoa... Wicked!" she squealed, hopping up and down a little as she felt oddly excited by her new strange surroundings. But before she could take in the scenery any longer, she heard a low rumbling from below her. Peering over the edge of of the row she stood on, she gave a quick examination of the few rows of blocks before her that led to an everlasting darkness as they shook and crumbled, tumbling down through the air and into the black abyss that the rest of the block tower seemed to just hover over. The lamb craned her neck further over the edge to stare at the blocks as they faded into the darkness.

"Whoa..." she breathed, seeming awestruck at the sight. She wondered what was down there in that abyss, wondering whether those blocks would just fall forever or if there was a dirt ground waiting for them below. The lamb raised her foot, threatening to take a step out into the black void underneath her, just to see how far those blocks had dropped...

"You there! Get off of those, quickly!" a males voice suddenly shouted at her, releasing her from her maniacal thoughts. The lamb frantically turned her head in all directions to find the source of the voice for a moment before a familiar rumbling sound from beneath her feet forced her to realize that the row of blocks she stood on was collapsing as well. The lamb sprang upwards to the next row in alarm, and watched as the blocks fell into the abyss just as the last few did, the door disappearing to a pile of ash as its only support was destroyed.

"Are you alright?" the voice spoke again. The lamb, slightly shaken but still calm, looked up to notice a male sheep standing two rows above her, wearing only reading glasses and a green vest. The lamb gasped as she noticed him, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Holy crap," she gasped, barely able to fathom the creature before her, "Holy crap! You're... You're a sheep!" she laughed wildly, "You're a sheep! A talking sheep! Oh my gosh, you're so cute!" The sheep in glasses raised his eyebrow at this.

"I'm not a sheep," he retorted, "You're a sheep. A lamb, to be specific." The lamb only giggled in reply, finding it cute how the sheep couldn't even tell what animal it was.

"Well, you seem to be alright," the sheep in glasses gave a small sigh in relief, "That's good. But we should hurry and climb up before this tower collapses." He offered her a hand up, and the lamb gladly took it with silent thanks, though she was unable to hold back another fit of giggles as she climbed to the block next to him. The two sheep climbed up the first few rows together quickly, forming staircases made of two blocks at the most as they climbed their way up. But soon they reached a cluster of blocks in their path, some forming ledges the sheep could climb on, but most merely stood in piles separate from each other. The sheep went to work instantly, pulling out block after block as they both attempted to make their own pathway upward, both focusing on either side of the wall to the Heavens while they tried to keep in pace with each other. That is, until the sheep in glasses noticed something peculiar.

"Hey!" he called the lamb over, "Come here, and look at this!" The lamb rushed over to see what the sheep in glasses was talking about, but a large gap stood in between the pathways they had made.

"Um... Hey, mister?" she struggled to speak up as she gave a nervous glance towards the gap, "I don't think I can jump that far..." The sheep in glasses looked back at her from his discovery, noticing her flushed cheeks and shy expression as she fiddled with her fingernails. Remembering that their lives were at stake, he held back the urge to smile at her sudden change in behavior and began pushing and pulling out more blocks from the wall he was working on, eventually having two in front of him.

"No matter," he said, "We could do this," He shoved the two blocks over the empty gap, filling it perfectly as the edges were formed. The lambs mouth dropped, her eyes wide with amazement.

"Wow!" she praised, springing straight up into the air as she clapped her hands together, "That's so cool!"

The sheep in glasses couldn't help but smile proudly at her response, though his tone still remained serious, "The laws of gravity do not seem to apply here, so blocks can just stay in place without the use of a supporting block under it as long as we apply an edge to it. That seems to be the truth." The sheep in glasses motioned for the lamb to follow him, and he showed her the lone block that stayed perfectly in place off the edge of the row, no block under to support it.

"Neat!" the lamb remarked. The two then heard the loud rumbling again, and the sheep in glasses realized that the space between them and an impending death was growing thinner by the minute as each block fell.

"We need to hurry," he warned, and with a nod the lamb rushed back to her wall and began forming paths again along with the other sheep. Their two paths eventually met at a single intersection, and the two sheep could almost see the door to freedom, the only thing standing in their way being a single wall of blocks. The deep tone of a bells chime resonated throughout the level, and somehow it gave the sheep new confidence to keep climbing, knowing that the bright shimmer of daylight was just on the other side of that door. The sheep in glasses quickly formed a path upward, climbing to a flight of brown stone blocks that led to the door like an over-sized staircase.

"Come on!" he shouted to the lamb standing a few rows below him, "I've made a path! We can leave now! Climb up!" The lamb glanced from her own forming path in disbelief to see the sheep in glasses only a few rows from the door. Her cheeks seemed to puff up in frustration.

"Aw, but I wanted to help!" she whined, making her way back down her own path to take the one the other sheep made.

"You've done more than enough to help," the sheep in glasses chuckled, climbing back down a few blocks to meet her.

"I don't think so," the lamb argued, crossing her arms curtly as she now stood a block below him.

"This is no time to argue," the sheep and glasses said in a serious tone, "Now let's hurry." He held out his hand again, and this time the lamb accepted it with some hesitance. The sheep in glasses then dragged the lamb back up the path he had made, assuring and reassuring her that she had done quite enough to help the situation, much to the lambs disagreement.

"You're doing quite enough to hinder our progress as well..." the sheep in glasses muttered under his breath. Suddenly the lamb had nothing more to say about the matter. The sheep eventually made it to the door, and as the sheep in glasses slowly opened it, the waking world welcomed them from the other side as a blinding light poured into the dark block-filled realm they stood in, filling the darkness around them. The bells toll rang louder than before, and for a moment, the two thought they could hear angels singing. Enraptured by the miraculous moment as they realized that death would not take them yet, the two sheep rushed through the door, the male sheep giving a smile as bright as the rays they ran through, and the lamb cackling like a mad man. And as the door slammed shut behind them, their efforts were rewarded with the light of the morning sun.

* * *

**A/N: Hello, and thank you for reading the first chapter of my story. I hope that you enjoyed it. I would like to take this time to inform readers that if you have any questions or critiques on this story and its chapters, please make a note of it in the Reviews. Chapters WILL BE REVISED SEVERAL TIMES throughout the course of the story development to clear up any confusions and to improve on the telling of each chapter, some even occurring after the story's completion. I will be posting any updates made on certain chapters on my profile page, so if you want, be sure to check there often to see if any changes have been made. Once again thank you for reading, and I do hope you enjoy the rest of "The Lost Lamb's Weeping."**


	2. So shy it's painful to watch

The bright light that had greeted the lamb through the doorway had dimmed to a shadowy gray as she awoke to the melancholy world she lived in, and suddenly she was herself again. The hazel eyes of a twenty-seven year old woman blinked open as she shot up in her bed in alarm, cold sweat dripping down her pale skin. The young woman, somewhat known as Janice Arianne, took a short, shaky breath as she glanced around her apartment with a sense of unease. She felt anxious and confused, yet in her dazed mind she could not fully understand why. Everything appeared to be normal; some clothes were randomly sprawled across the floor, but the rest of the area was kept pristine, every item and object cleaned, polished, and neatly stuffed away in the few nooks and crannies the cramped living space had to offer. Janice then looked over to see the twenty-eight year old man whom she had declared her love to, Jeremy Horrace, his face buried into his pillow as he lie next to her, drooling with a look of content. Janice smiled at the sight of the man, lightly grazing her fingers over his messy brown hair before running them through her own matted mess of black.

_Damn... What an odd dream..._ she thought as she struggled to remember the contents of the dream. Each image in her mind was so vivid, so clear, and so specific that she could point out every tiny detail within the dream while she was having it, yet now that she was awake, she didn't have the foggiest idea as to what the dream was about. Janice quickly gave up on the subject as nothing came to mind, and she checked the time on the digital alarm clock next to the bed. Janice gave a nonchalant grunt as she read the time: 7:47 AM. Though she hated getting up early, and she didn't need to go to work for the next two hours, she felt no need to try to go back to sleep now; she was already amped and awake, her anxiety making her more wired than a large cup of coffee. She gave Jeremy one last adoring glance before she quietly snook out of the small bed that they shared and dumped the scattered bits of their clothing into the laundry hamper. She lied out fresh clothes for Jeremy and grabbed her work uniform for her job, and after freshening herself up, Janice grabbed her purse and left their apartment for work. She made sure she was perfectly kept and ready for her waitressing job at the Chrono Rabbit, a very popular dessert cafe that was within safe walking distance from her new home. Janice didn't really enjoy flaunting herself around in a purple dress and heels all day, (even if the dress wasn't as revealing as she had always thought,) but she still loved her job. It was a simple job with simple tasks that she could do consistantly every day without much worry, so it felt perfect for someone like her.

As she walked down the almost barren hallway to the stairs, Janice couldn't help but glance at one of her neighbors as he exited his apartment. She had never met the man, never talked to him, and had barely ever seen him since she had moved in, yet he had always seemed to intrigue her in a way, yet she could never understand why. He didn't seem too unusual to her at first glance. He was young man - not too young, but notmuch older than her either - with long brown hair that reached to the bottom of his neck and large blue eyes that always seemed to be sunken in to his head. Janice assumed that they always appeared that way because of the deep bags that hung under his eyes. He was also a very pale man, much like herself, although he appeared to be particularly pale on his forehead more than any other area of his face. And by her judgement he also looked very depressed as she watched him carry himself so feebly, his gait trying to make him appear positive, but failing miserably as he actually moved, even when he was with one of the many women she had seen him with at the Chrono Rabbit. Women that would usually leave the cafe crying. Janice felt a pang of guilt in her chest as she went over these things in her mind. She wondered why she made so many mental notes on his physical appearance, documenting him like he was some kind of alien being, yet she couldn't help but look at him every time she saw him, even though she would see him almost on a daily basis at her work.

As Janice passed by her neighbor, glancing at him as she did, the man looked back at her for the first time. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and with a face as red as a beet, Janice averted her gaze to the floor and sped off the rest of the way to the stairs, heading down to the lobby as quickly as her legs would carry her. Hopping off of the last step, she took a deep breath and relaxed once she had reached the bottom of the stairway. She was shaking for a moment, but she quickly recovered and straightened herself out before heading out the front entrance of the building and walking to work, taking a longer route to the cafe than usual.

The work day was oddly slow for Janice that day, with only a few customers to tend to and little work to be done in the usually populous cafe. Janice delivered her orders to the regular customers with ease, greeting them with a smile each time as she tried to keep her composure with every stiff movement she made, afraid of making any mistake that would jeopardize her chances of keeping this job.

_Keep moving,_ she coached herself in her mind, _You're doing good so far. Be sure not to trip. Don't spill anything. Keep your back straight and your breath even..._

Suddenly, Janice's phone beeped from the chest pocket of her dress.

She jumped and nearly spilled her customers' order on to their table, balancing the metal tray full of sweets in hands.

"Ah... um..." she muttered shyly, her body stiffening up even more, "Sorry..."

"...For what?" the man who sat at the table asked with a befuddled gaze, looking away from his girlfriend who sat across from him. Janice glance at the orders on the tray in her hand. They were perfectly intact.

"Oh, uh, nothing!" she dismissed with a gulp, trying to act cheerful through a face flushed with embarrassment, "N-now, um, who ordered the strawberry cake?"

As soon as Janice had delivered the order, she darted back behind the front counter in a flash and whipped out her cellphone. She frantically checked her messages, hoping that it was just her phone service company telling her when her bills were due. Her hopes were quickly dashed once she read the name: Jeremy.

_"Hey. You didn't shut off your alarm before you left."_ the text read. Janice felt a pang of guilt in her chest. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten to shut off her alarm. She briefly glanced around the area. The woman who usually manned the counter and delivered the orders to her was in the kitchen in the back of the building, and the few patrons that sat at the booths and tables away from the counter were busy talking among themselves. It didn't seem like they needed any service. Janice ducked behind the counter and sat on the floor.

_"Ohhh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Jerry! (;A;) I forgot that my alarm was still on when I woke up this morning!" _she texted back. Jeremy's text came back almost immediately.

_"Where are you anyways? Why did you leave so early?"_ he responded.

_"I'm at work. I got up early today."_

There was a short pause before Jeremy texted her back.

_"Don't lie to me."_ it read.

Janice sighed, a sense of annoyance and dread washing over her as she leaned back against the counter. She didn't like it when he acted like this.

_"I'm not lying to you,"_ she texted him, _"I really am at work."_

_"How do I know that, Janice?!" Jeremy texted back, "How do I know that you're not out with some other guy instead? Is that why you got up so early?! Are you cheating on me?!"_

And the age old question returned to rear its ugly head into Janice's life once again. She sighed.

_"No, I'm not cheating on you, Jerry! Why do you always assume that just because I'm not with you, I'm with some other guy?"_

_"BECAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE A LYING BITCH JANICE! THAT'S WHY. YOU ALWAYS FUCKING LIE TO ME AND I GODDAMN KNOW THAT YOU'RE OUT WHORING AROUND INSTEAD OF 'WORKING' YOU FUCKING SLUT! OR IS THAT HOW YOU 'WORK?' ARE YOU A FUCKING PROSTITUTE JANICE?!"_

_"Jeremy, please! I'm not lying, believe me! I love you! I would never cheat on you! And I'm not a whore!"_

_"THAT'S WHAT THEY ALL MOTHERFUCKING SAY BEFORE THEY LEAVE ME AND RUN OFF WITH SOMEONE ELSE! DO YOU REALLY THINK I'M THAT FUCKING DUMB?"_

"Hello! Can I get some service here?" a voice suddenly broke through the war scene that played on in Janice's mind, and she shut her cellphone closed and stood up from behind the counter, wiping the tears from her eyes. The man standing on the other side of the counter jumped slightly at her sudden appearance before his frustrated expression returned.

"I-I am so sorry!" she said, "What do you need?"

"Some better service, that's what I need!" the man in front of the counter snapped back at her, "I've been waiting for five fucking minutes for someone so I could get a damn refill for my drink, and now I'm having to walk up here to speak with someone instead!"

"S-sir, I'm very sorry. Please, take a seat and I'll get you a refill."

"Come on, Steve," a dark-haired woman suddenly appeared by mans side and grasped his arm as she spoke, "Don't be angry. Just sit back down. Please?" She batted her sky blue eyes at him with a gaze of false innocence, and the man sighed.

"Fine," he sighed, wrapping an arm around the young womans slender shoulders and leading her back to their table. He glared at Janice as he sat down, and he waved his nearly empty glass of ice tea in the air impatiently before his girlfriend kissed him to calm him down. Janice gave a nod towards the man before rushing back into the kitchen to fufill his order, thanking God in her head that he didn't ask to speak with the manager. She spent the rest of the evening waiting tables as usual, ocassionally sending a text to Jeremy as she tried to defend her innocence. Eventually, Jeremy told her not to come back to their apartment that night, and all Janice could do then was sigh in defeat and obey his orders as she left the Chrono Rabbit. She wandered down the street for a while, trying to remember where the nearest motel was that she could sleep for the night. Though her body felt heavy, her mind was clear and alert, and she felt surprisingly optimistic. She didn't like having to hunt for a place to stay at night while her boyfriend was angry with her at home, but she did enjoy the fact that she didn't have to come home to a beating for once, and she found herself hoping that he would tell her to stay away from the apartment more often. She tried to follow the route she had made in her mind, but instead she found herself in front of a small building she had never seen before, reading the large sign above the doorway: Stray Sheep.

**A/N: I know that this chapter is too long and probably isn't that interesting to read, and I'm very sorry for that, especially since I haven't uploaded anything on this website in a long time. I'm not very good with second chapters, but hopefully the third chapter will be a little shorter and move the story along a little bit quicker than this one. This chapter was really meant to give you readers some information on our main character and her current predicaments. The third chapter should be up soon since I actually have some time to write now, but for now I hope you enjoyed chapter two.**


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